


No Better Place Than Home

by IndigoDream



Series: Geralt Fluff Week 2020 [2]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Bath, Day 2: Kaer Morhen, First Kiss, Geralt Fluff Week (The Witcher), Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Hugs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25676101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoDream/pseuds/IndigoDream
Summary: Geralt has been delayed from coming back to Kaer Morhen by a few contracts, and when he does manage to come home, the road is covered by a snowstorm. An unexpected guest takes on himself to take care of Geralt -- as he always does.--Written for Geralt Fluff Week Day 2: Kaer Morhen/Wolf-Witchers
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Geralt Fluff Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859671
Comments: 26
Kudos: 291
Collections: Geralt Fluff Week 2020





	No Better Place Than Home

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my second Geralt Fluff Week entry! 
> 
> I told myself "don't write only geraskier for Geralt Fluff Week!" so naturally, this is geraskier fluff. Welp, at least I thought about not doing that ?? We'll see if I actually manage for the rest of the week, sigh.
> 
> Enjoy this fic! It's very self-indulgent :3

It started snowing a couple of hours ago, and Geralt is starting to feel it. The cold sticks to his skin, pushing deep beneath his clothes, and he is half debating putting his armour back on for some extra warmth. He is close to his home though, has been on the path that leads up the mountain for two hours. He passed the last village an hour before that, and restocked some of his supplies there, but even eating some warm broth hadn’t helped keep him warm long. 

He had hesitated to stay there for the night, but this is the first snowstorm of the season, and if he doesn’t get through it, he might not be able to reach Kaer Morhen for a few weeks. He has to be home. He hadn’t gone back the previous year, too wrapped in affairs down in Toussaint that he had ended up staying there with an overjoyed Jaskier. Geralt tries not to think about parting with him in Oxenfurt. He ignores the way he had almost asked him countless of times to join him, to come with him. There is no way Jaskier would have accepted anyway. 

Roach neighs next to him and he reaches out, scratching her head. She must be suffering from the cold too, but soon the stables of Kaer Morhen will welcome her and keep her warm for the rest of the winter. She’s a young one, barely three years old, and this will be her first winter in the witchers’ keep. 

“Just a bit more, girl,” Geralt grunts and keeps walking, holding her bridle tightly. Inside his gloves, his fingers are starting to become numb, and he wonders how much longer they can hold on against the weather. The gods aren’t favouring him right now, it seems. 

Barely three hundred meters have passed before he hears his name being called. The voice comes from somewhere above, but when he tries to look up, he finds himself blinking rapidly, unable to look at anything. There is the sound of footsteps, something sliding, and then someone is standing in front of him, grinning widely. _Eskel._

They both rush forward at the same time, meeting in the middle in a tight hug. Eskel is warm, and laughing, and Geralt finds himself laughing with his brother. 

“It’s so good to see you,” Eskel says as they separate, and then he frowns. “Gods, how long have you been out in this storm? You’re freezing. Let’s get you home and warmed up.” 

Geralt nods, letting the tension fall from his shoulder as he follows his brother. The Keep isn’t far, barely a ten minutes walk from where he met up Eskel, but in the snowstorm, he couldn’t see it. Eskel takes Roach’s bridle from him and orders him to go inside, which Geralt does gladly, his pack and swords slung over his shoulder. 

The Keep is incredibly warm when he steps in. Geralt could melt from how soaked and cold he is, but the Keep is warm 

"We were expecting you earlier," Eskel says as he joins him back, slinging his arm over his shoulder. "Some of us were getting worried." 

"'Some of us'?" Geralt frowns as they start walking towards the main hall. "Everyone is here already?" 

"Yes," Eskel grins. "Everyone." 

As they push the doors of the main hall open, the combination of honeysuckle and orange hits him, a scent he knows well. It's the smell of morning spent pretending to be asleep as Jaskier hurries around, the smell of hugs and warmth and joy. The smell of _Jaskier_.

Sitting and laughing at the table, Jaskier is playing cards with Aiden and Lambert. He is wearing a darker colored shirt then he usually would, a deep red that looks quite thick and warm, but his smile is the same as ever, bright and inviting. 

Considering the scowl on Lambert's face and the teasing look in Aiden's eyes, Geralt feels safe in assuming that the bard is winning against the two witchers. He feels a pinch of pity for the both of them; he has played against Jaskier a couple of times when they stopped in inns, and he has never been able to win a single game against his friend. 

He hadn't expected the relief and sheer joy of seeing Jaskier again, when they had parted only a month and a half ago. The fact that Jaskier is within Kaer Morhen's walls makes Geralt's heart stutters 

"Jaskier?" 

Geralt's voice is a bit hesitant, a bit strangled. He must be dreaming, must be imagining that the bard is here. 

Jaskier turns to him and his smile widens, a feat that Geralt would call impossible if he weren't seeing it right now. The chair he was sitting on clatters to the floor as he runs up to him and throws his arms around Geralt, hugging him tightly. The bard is very tactile, and there hasn’t been once that he hasn’t hugged Geralt when they reunited. It seems today is no exception, so Geralt wraps his arms around him back and inhales deeply. The scent finishes making all the tension fall from his body.

"Geralt you're finally here! Oh gods you're soaking wet, did you get caught in the snowstorm?” Jaskier is patting Geralt’s shirt with a frown, pushing the cape away from his shoulders and frowning. “That won't do at all! You must get into something warm and comfortable." 

Geralt ignores his brothers’ amused looks; Lambert is just as besotted with Aiden, and Geralt has seen him fluttering around Aiden more than once when the Cat witcher came back with any minor injuries after one of their winter hunts. Eskel snorts as Jaskier tuts and takes away the cape.

“Alright, off you go!” Jaskier is manhandling him, pushing him towards the stairs, and ignoring the wolf witchers’ snickers. 

There isn’t any time for Geralt to question how Jaskier knows the way to his room, no time for him to even wonder how or why Jaskier is there. All his attention is focused on Jaskier’s palm against his as he drags him through the Keep, on the way his fingers tighten every so often, almost as if pressing light kisses to his hand.

A tub of hot water welcomes Geralt in his room, and he frowns a bit. Who prepared this? They had no idea that he was arriving today and unless someone else had been planning on using it, there is no reason for someone to have drawn the bath. 

When he points this out to Jaskier, the bard humphs as he starts pulling off Geralt’s wet clothes. “Your brothers said you would probably arrive today, so I kept it warm. And even if you had only arrived tomorrow, I would only have had to heat it up. A light heating spell doesn’t take much energy, after all, and I might only have the smallest amount of magic, I know how to use it for the best purposes!” 

“Right, nymph blood,” Geralt mutters as he steps into the water. “Keep forgetting that one.” 

Jaskier grins as he grabs a stool and sits himself behind Geralt. “I’m not entirely defenceless, my darling witcher. Now, sit down properly, you look like you need more than one massage, especially in your shoulders. Now, if I had known you would be facing a storm to get back here, I would have brought some sea salt and some chamomile oils, but I had no idea the weather was this dreadful here and…” 

While still talking, Jaskier’s hands start kneading at his shoulders and Geralt tries to not purr of happiness. There is always something special when Jaskier touches him, when the two of them are together like this, the rest of the world disappearing and only Jaskier’s voice and Jaskier’s touch mattering. 

"Why are you here?"Geralt asks in a whisper, not daring to look at Jaskier. He is afraid of the answer, afraid of hearing something that might shatter the fragile hope building in his chest. 

"Your father invited me!" Jaskier answers happily as he massages Geralt's shoulder. “He sent me a letter back in the summer. He got lucky I was still working in Oxenfurt while you were in Temeria? He wanted to meet me and thought I would be interested in the history of witchers, so I was invited to spend the winter with you all. I wanted to keep it a surprise, so Eskel met with me in Oxenfurt. He helped me get up here. He’s lovely, your brother! Well, all of your family is. Vesemir was very kind, allowed me to take a room nearby yours.”

"I get how,” Geralt interrupts before Jaskier starts rambling even more, “but why did you come? Oxenfurt has better weather, and you told me you couldn’t wait to show Marx how much better than him you were.” 

"I thought it could be nice to visit your home and meet your family... “ Jaskier’s voice is hesitant. “I’m sorry if that upsets you though, I should have thought this through better."

Jaskier starts to withdraw, moving away from Geralt, but the Witcher grabs his hand. This time, he dares to look at him, and when he sees the sadness in Jaskier’s face, the way hope is still clinging to his eyes, he wonders if his presence in the Keep isn’t a blessing. Geralt will definitely have to talk with Vesemir.

"Don't go please.” Geralt whispers softly. “I want you to stay. I'm glad you're here." 

The smile he receives in exchange for saying those three simple sentences could rival the sun’s brightness, and Geralt can feel his cheeks heating up, so he turns his face away, sinking a bit further away into the water. 

The weariness that he had kept at bay until now starts to take over him, and he yawns slightly. The warm water and Jaskier’s gentle massaging of his hair is starting to make him feel rather inclined to sleep. Jaskier must notice, because the bard chuckles and draws Geralt’s head to his lap, treading his fingers through his hair, disentangling it gently.

Geralt has no idea of how long he has dozed off, or how long Jaskier has been humming this gently. He blinks awake a bit later, mind still muddled by the short nap he has taken. Jaskier’s eyes are so blue, and so full of a tenderness that Geralt wants to hope means the same as his own tenderness does. 

"You know, this is the first time I'm seeing you this relaxed. It suits you." Jaskier is gently braiding his hair and unbraiding it, working oils through the slight waves of it. Each time, he makes sure that is the oil has had time to penetrate the hair before he washes it off gently, uncaring that his pants get soaked in the process. It’s something he has done many times before, and Geralt has always found it frivolous, but extremely pleasant.

“Always safer in Kaer Morhen,” he yawns slightly, and then smiles up at Jaskier, almost drifting off to sleep again. “And being with you always makes me happy.” 

"I make you happy?" His fingers leave Geralt's hair, and he almost reaches out to caress the Witcher's cheek but he doesn't dare. Instead, his hand hovers against Geralt’s cheek, not touching it but close enough that Geralt can feel the man’s warmth.

When he leans into his touch, Geralt smiles at the small awed look he receives. He might regret this come morning. But for now he is too tired, too happy, to keep his feelings to himself. Jaskier deserves to know, after all. 

“Of course you do. I love the way you're always humming or singing... and you're so pretty when you smile too... I love when you get angry because people don't like witchers... though I wish you didn't get into so many barfights.”

"You really are tired.” Jaskier smiles but still caresses Geralt's cheek, his thumb stroking the small scar there. "You make me happy too, so much. That's why I came here, you know? To be with you a bit more. Spending the winter with you last year was so nice and I… I wanted to meet the people who are so important to you.” 

There is a second during which Geralt hesitates, and then he decides to be as brave now as he is fighting monsters. He presses a gentle kiss to Jaskier’s palm. "I should have asked you myself." 

After a shiver, Jaskier chuckles and bends down, kissing Geralt's forehead tenderly. A kiss for a kiss, it seems, and Geralt wants more than this, but he doesn’t know how to ask. "Even if you didn't, we are still here together, aren't we?" 

“We are,” Geralt agrees and sits up, lifting his head away from Jaskier’s lap and looking at him directly. His eyes keep darting to Jaskier’s lips, to their tantalizing red, and he wets his own lips. “Can I-“

He doesn't have the time to finish his question. Jaskier’s lips are on his own, delicate and tender at first, and when Geralt chases after his lips, the kiss becomes more animated. They are both breathless when they pull apart, and the grins on their faces are well matched as well. 

“Come on,” Jaskier says before pecking his lips lightly again, apparently unable to resist his witcher’s lips. “Let’s finish washing you and then get you in some proper clothes. Not that I’m objecting to you walking around naked, but I would rather you don’t catch your death just yet.” 

Geralt chuckles and nods. “Alright, I suppose I’ll put on clothes if it’s of such importance for you.” 

“Much the contrary,” Jaskier whispers, hands back in Geralt’s hair as he leans in closer. “But I intend to keep you all to myself, and you need to greet your family properly.” 

A shiver runs through Geralt’s body and he nods. He can’t wait for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! You can find me on tumblr (@saltytransidiot) if you want to chat! 
> 
> Don't hesitate to leave a kudos or comment :D


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